


The madness of hate

by Rainbowfootsteps



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-25 16:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 13,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4967620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbowfootsteps/pseuds/Rainbowfootsteps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Feliciano, a cafe owner in Italy, never expected to be a hero. And whether he can be is a question in itself. So when he must save his brother from himself using powers he could never dream of, can he rise to his own destiny?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The day started off normally enough. Feliciano breathed in the cool air, sniffling as the fabric of his scarf tickled his nose. The sky was a mellow grey, the shadows short and faded. The Aurora cafe was quiet, the pattering drops of rain outside deterring customers. Feliciano breathed in the cinnamon scent of the cafe. He loved this little shop. He’d always wanted to own his own cafe, and here he was, standing at the pale blue counter surrounded by cakes and confections. The calming cream walls were decorated by beautiful monet prints, accented with sweet blue tablecloths. The only sound that broke his tranquil silence was the occasional whistled tune from Lovino, his older brother, who was hard at work washing cups.

“Oi, Feli, it’s Ludwig.” Feliciano blinked, woken from his thoughtful daydreams. Sure enough, Ludwig was running down the street outside the cafe’s large front window. The bell rang cheerfully to announce his entrance.  
“Ciao!” Feliciano smiled. Ludwig shrugged off his wet jacket, placing it on the bare coat rack. He walked the short distance to the counter and kissed Feliciano on the forehead.  
“Good morning.” He said brusquely.  
“The usual.” He asked. Feliciano shook his head as Ludwig started to pull out his wallet.  
“You know you don’t have to pay.” He protested. Ludwig placed a five dollar note on the counter anyway, which Feliciano begrudgingly picked up.  
“Lovino, an apple and cranberry muffin!” He said, already expertly creating a cup of black coffee from the large coffee maker.  
“Morning, jerk-face.” Lovino muttered. Ludwig raised an eyebrow but said nothing, instead trailing over to a seat at one of the blue-clad tables. Quickly a cup of coffee and his muffin was placed in front of him, which he politely nibbled at. Feliciano sat down next to him, re-tying his apron.  
“Hey, Ludwig. Lovino, Antonio and I were thinking of going out for a walk in the plaza after work. Do you want to come?” Feliciano asked, mixing Ludwig’s coffee with the small spoon inside it. He nodded.  
“I would love to come.” He replied with a smile. Feliciano beamed.  
“We’ll meet outside the cafe!”

“Buongiorno!” Feliciano waved frantically as Ludwig walked towards the motley group. The sun hung low in the sky, despite it being only half past six.  
“Tch, did we have to bring him?” Lovino grumbled. Antonio laughed, holding Lovino’s hand.  
“Don’t be so mean to him, Lovi!” He said with a smile. Lovino grumbled a churlish reply but didn’t say anything to Ludwig’s face when he joined them.  
“Oh Ludwig, today was so tiring!” Feliciano moaned, slipping his hand into Ludwig’s as the four started to walk down the sidewalk. Beside them, neon lights started to flicker on. Lampposts slowly came to life, illuminating the droplets of rain that still slowly fell.  
“This man came in who didn’t speak any Italian at all!” Feliciano exclaimed.  
“He kept saying ‘explosion, explosion.’ He looked very worried.” He continued.  
“He must have been talking about that thing in the news, about the burning house. Didn’t even order anything! He just repeated it a few times and left. I think he was a little off-kilter.” Feliciano said with a shrug.  
“I say he was a damn drunkard.” Lovino muttered.  
“You always see the worst in people, Lovi.” Antonio said not unkindly. Lovino kicked Antonio’s shoe in reply. They were now in the plaza. In the centre stood a huge oak tree, its massive leafless branches shadowing a set of wooden benches. Lovino and Antonio wandered off to buy ‘whatever looks tastiest for dinner’, and Feliciano and Ludwig settled themselves down on one of the benches.  
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Feliciano breathed, resting his head on Ludwig’s shoulder. The plaza in the setting sun certainly was picturesque. The white houses with brick-red roofs were quickly melting away into the darkness of the evening, which was peppered with flaming yellow dots of light from lampposts and open-till-late stores. A few battered metal barrels sat in a corner of the plaza, decorated with warning signs but certainly empty. Ludwig nodded.  
“Not as beautiful as you.” He murmured, placing his arm around the Italian.  
“I wish this moment could last forever…” Feliciano said quietly.

No sooner than he had said those words, it happened. It was like a phoenix, hot and fierce and sudden. The first warning was a loud rumbling and clicking. Ludwig frowned and stood up.  
“What’s that?” He looked around, but nothing stirred. A door of a lit-up shop opened and Antonio and Lovino walked back into the plaza, laden with paper bags. The clicking changed to a hissing noise. That was when Ludwig saw the flame, creeping along the ground towards the barrels on a thin black rope.  
“Feliciano, down!” He roared, but too late. With a deafening roar the barrels exploded, a mushroom cloud of flame bursting out with a force like a thousand tigers.


	2. Chapter 2

All that Feliciano remembered from the explosion was that he was thrown onto the ground, feeling like his skin was burning off his body. There was something sharp lodged in his ankle. He screamed, choking on smoke. Something thumped to the ground beside him. He blindly reached out to it. A hand grasped his. Then he was being dragged away from the heat. Before they could get very far, another explosion ripped the square. Feliciano felt the heat on his back intensify then die down a little. He wasn’t screaming anymore; he didn’t have the breath to do so. Instead he was coughing and moaning. His eyes closed against the painful smoke, he stumbled forward. If not for the hand holding his he certainly would have fallen over. He could hear other voices yelling but his ears were ringing too loudly for him to understand any of it. After an eternity of blind stumbling he was picked up in a piggyback. He cried as his burnt skin rubbed against coarse fabric, but he held on tight. Forcing a watery eye open for just a moment, he saw he was on Ludwig, who looked just as burnt as he did. A shard of something was poking out of his cheek, slick with oil and blood. The plaza was ablaze. The oak tree was on fire, its gnarled branches lit up like a torch. Lights were going on all around the plaza.  
“Lovino..” Feliciano croaked. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted out of consciousness.

When he woke up, his mind was blank. He looked around curiously. White surrounded him. No, wait. There was a little vase next to his bed, in which was a single red tulip. He tried to turn his head and winced. His skin felt awful, like the time he’d badly burnt his finger on a tray when making biscotti. He lifted his arm with difficulty. It looked fine, with only a few puffy blisters. An IV drip trailed from his arm to a bag of liquid suspended on a stand. He blinked again. Now he remembered. The agony, the brightness, the explosion. It seemed so surreal. He sat up with a grunt and looked around. He was cut off from the rest of the world by a curtain. It was pale and a little sad, with faded smiley faces. Suddenly the curtain was pulled to the side and a nurse bustled into the small cubicle.   
“C-Ciao…” Feliciano rasped. His one word made his throat burn intensely, and he pulled a face.  
“Don’t talk, dear. You’ll make it worse. Have a drink.” The nurse encouraged. Feliciano gratefully took a sip from the little white cup she handed him.   
“You’re a miracle, you know that?” The nurse said as she methodically prepared to stick a needle into his elbow.  
“You’ve been asleep for a week and a half and somehow almost all the burn marks are gone.” She continued. Feliciano winced as the needle was pushed in.  
“Ludwig…” He croaked hopefully. The nurse looked at him sympathetically.  
“He’s your friend that came in at the same time, isn’t he?” She tutted.  
“Brave man, that. Eyewitnesses say he carried you away from the explosion until he collapsed. Don’t worry, he’s fine now.” She added, seeing the worried look in Feliciano’s eyes.  
“In fact, he’s been asking to see you all day, but we decided to let you sleep. Shall I tell him he can come in?” She suggested, and Feliciano nodded vehemently. The nurse smiled, packing up her little box of syringe equipment.  
“I’ll just be a moment.” She promised, before ducking out of the cubicle and pulling the curtain shut.

Left to his own devices for a few minutes, Feliciano closed his eyes and thought about what had happened. The nurse had said nothing about Antonio and Lovino, but he assumed they were at the hospital too. They were even closer to the explosion than he and Ludwig were at the time… A faint noise made him open his eyes. Above him he could have sworn he saw a little fairy-like creature, with shimmering golden wings. He blinked, and it was gone.  
“Feli?” He was distracted from this strange mirage by Ludwig’s voice. The curtain was pulled back yet again and Feliciano was filled with joy to see Ludwig hobble into the room. His cheek had a large bandage on it and his hands looked blistered and raw, but he was alive. Ludwig slowly walked to Feliciano’s side and sat with a thud on the little white chair.  
“I’m so glad you’re alright…” Ludwig said, looking imploringly into Feliciano’s eyes.  
“You… saved….. me.” Feliciano whispered, swallowing as the words burned his throat. Ludwig smiled a little.  
“I love you, Feli.” He said. He frowned a little.  
“I don’t know what caused that barrel to explode or why, but there was something strange in those barrels.” He muttered, deep in thought. Feliciano looked at him inquiringly.  
“I’ll elaborate. In the explosion, a shard of something hit my cheek. It was covered in some sort of liquid. I think that’s what caused this.” He took a deep breath and curled his hand into a fist. Feliciano watched, stunned, as the tips of Ludwig’s fingers slowly turned grey.  
“Stone.” He rasped in amazement. Ludwig nodded.  
“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for it.” He said firmly, the grey quickly receding as he lost concentration.  
“Has anything like this happened to you?” He asked curiously. Feliciano’s mind jumped to the angelic creature he’d seen. Hesitantly he nodded. Ludwig looked deep in thought.  
“Get some sleep. The doctor’s said you’ll be able to leave on saturday.” He said, patting Feliciano’s shoulder gently.  
“Lovino? Antonio?” Feliciano asked quietly. He had to have another drink from the little white cup after this, his throat dry and rough.  
“They’re… Not doing as well.” Ludwig admitted.  
“They won’t die, don’t worry.” He was quick to add.  
“But they’ll need to stay in hospital a bit longer.” He finished. Feliciano nodded sadly.  
“I’ll stay with you, Feliciano. It’s alright. I’m here.” Ludwig murmured. Feliciano’s eyes fluttered closed as the presence of Ludwig calmed him enough to send him into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

“Don’t overexert yourself. I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Feliciano sighed but didn’t argue. For the past two days Ludwig had been fussing over him, even going to the length of preparing him the perfect bubble bath the night before. He’d been staying at Ludwig’s; the road his cafe was on, which he lived above, was closed off to clean up the damage, which was considerable. Ludwig hadn’t wanted him to be alone anyway, and so most of the days they had spent together had been spent napping with an occasional crying session. Neither of them were even close to being able to go back to work. Feliciano wiggled a bit under the blanket he was smothered in and sneezed, wincing as his still tender throat burned a little.  
“Have you tried doing the thing again?” He called quietly to Ludwig, who was diligently pouring boiling water into a teacup. He put down the kettle, and sighed a little.  
“Yes. It’s very hard, but I can now do it to my whole hand.” He replied. He closed his eyes and frowned. Feliciano gasped as the fingers on Ludwig’s right hand slowly turned grey. The grey continued up his hand and stopped at the wrist, the edges of it looking like veins.  
“I can’t move my fingers or wrist when it’s like this.” Ludwig grunted, gritting his teeth. He moved his arm but Feliciano saw that his hand stayed still, like it really was stone.  
“That’s amazing!” He breathed. Quickly the grey disappeared and Ludwig’s hand was back to normal.  
“It’s plausible that I can turn my whole body into stone, but I feel it would be unwise.” He said with a stern look on his face, mixing the milk into the teacup as violently as one can when the tea is in a pink hello kitty mug.  
“Have you seen the.. fairy thing again?” Ludwig asked curiously, slowly walking back to the couch Feliciano lay curled up on. He nodded.  
“This morning, when I woke up, it was on the ground next to the bed.” He said slowly - although he’d recovered the ability to speak, it was still a challenge.  
“It was only maybe thirty centimetres high, but it had these beautiful golden wings like an angels! And its body was white and it looked like it had a dress on. It’s face was weird. It looked happy, I think.” He mused.  
“I’ve named it Angel. I said 'hello, Angel' to it but it disappeared.” He said sadly. Ludwig placed the mug down gently on the coffee table and sat down next to him.  
“Do you think you can bring it back?” He asked. Feliciano make a pessimistic grunt.  
“I can try.” He said doubtfully. He closed his eyes. What on Earth was he supposed to do? Maybe he had to think about what Angel looked like. He held his breath and tried to make a mental image of Angel.  
“Feli! Feli, look!”

Angel was like nothing they had ever seen before. It had wings as long as its body flapping lazily, and a short white dress that may have been part of its body with long, lithe legs hanging out underneath. Whether the dress was part of the little angelic being or not, it was impossible to tell. It’s face was round and white without a mouth or nose. Its eyes were circular and there were no whites or pupil, just yellow. Its golden hair hung in the air defying gravity. It almost shimmered as It somehow came into existence, then immediately flew around the room like a trapped sparrow.  
“My god, stop!” Ludwig barked as Angel narrowly avoided smashing into the television.  
“Angel, stop!” Feliciano cried in a panic. It immediately stopped zipping around the room and instead latched onto Feliciano’s shoulder, tucking its wings up. He giggled as it nuzzled his neck.  
“It’s pretty cute!” He said and gently patted its head with one finger. Ludwig leaned away from the strange creature, squinting suspiciously at it.  
“As long as it doesn’t break anything, it can stay. Otherwise you do that… Whatever you do, and get rid of it.” He ordered. Feliciano nodded, mesmerised by the small angelic creature. If he’d had any more energy, he probably would have screamed as it was zooming around the room. Maybe it was a good thing he was tired right now.

He had fallen asleep with Angel still sitting on his shoulder when Ludwig gently woke him.  
“Feliciano, the hospital called. They want to talk to us before Lovino has an operation to get out a piece of debris in his chest, to sign the documents and such.” He said. Feliciano moaned.  
“I don’t want to get up.” He complained sadly, but eventually got to his feet.  
“Bye, little Angel!” He said to his new little friend.  
“You’re going to have to stay here.” He told Angel firmly. In response, Angel shimmered away into nothing. Feliciano shivered.  
“That’s creepy.” He murmured. Ludwig responded by thrusting Feliciano’s shoes at him pointedly.  
“Come on. The sooner we go, the sooner we can see Antonio and Lovino.”


	4. Chapter 4

The trip to the hospital was slow and tiring. Ludwig didn’t own a car, being in the centre of town and not needing one. So instead they took the bus. Feliciano rested his head on the vibrating window and sighed a little. Were Antonio and Lovino alright? How long would they have to stay at the hospital? He lazily looked around the bus, his eyes half closed. It was mostly a boring grey shade, the houses outside lazily drifting in and out of view through the smudged plastic windows. Uncomfortable blue seats were sat on by mostly old people. A wrinkly woman in a pink cardigan was knitting ferociously. An old woman wearing a frightful yellow jumper was glaring at him, probably because he was holding Ludwig’s hand. He ignored her. Oh, there was the hospital. Wait. People were pouring out of the exit, citizens and doctors alike. What was going on?

“Don’t go inside!” A man yelled, running past Feliciano and Ludwig as they stepped off the bus. It got going as fast as it could, leaving them staring at the mass exodus flooding from the hospital doors.  
“What’s going on?” Ludwig yelled over the babble. A nurse pushing a patient on a rolling bed stopped for a moment beside them.  
“Christ has come down to smite us!” She gasped.  
“A patient is destroying the hospital through His power! It’s the end of the world!” She continued, clutching a cross necklace with her left hand. She started to push the bed again. The patient was still unconscious despite the screams. Feliciano’s stomach dropped.  
“It’s Lovi and Antonio!” He gasped.  
“They have powers like us!” He cried, hobbling closer to the hospital. Ludwig placed a firm hand on his shoulder.  
“We can’t go in!” He stated, frowning at the crashes and thumps coming from inside the large white building. The street was still full of people running every which way, and Feliciano had to hide behind Ludwig to avoid being pulled away into the crowd. Smash! He shrieked as the high-pitched roar reverberated through the street. In shocked silence he watched as the windows of the hospital all crashed outwards, thousands of shards of glass flying down at them. Ludwig pushed in front of Feliciano, staring up at the glass. Feliciano screamed.

He’d expected to feel the agony of hundreds of bits of glass plunging into his skin. He’d quite possibly feared his flesh being burnt to a crisp by an unseen flame. But when he opened his eyes, he was unharmed. Looking up, he gasped. In between him and the hospital, Ludwig stood over him, protecting him. But it wasn’t Ludwig. Hesitantly Feliciano poked the stone statue that stood in front of him, immovable arms clasped around him. He tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but statue-Ludwig held on too tight.  
“Whoah…” he whispered in amazement. Suddenly the stone started to retract, quickly being replaced by the real Ludwig. Soon it was gone, and Feliciano squeaked as Ludwig slumped onto him.  
“I can’t… do that again… need to get away from here..” Ludwig grunted. He stood up slowly and looked up at the now windowless hospital. Glass was everywhere, and people were screaming more than before. Feliciano winced as a bloody hand brushed his top.  
“Feli, look.” Ludwig barked, pointing above the hospital. Feliciano gasped. Standing on the roof, looking down at the chaos, was a man. Like a lion looking down on newly killed prey, it was as if he was reveling in the destruction and pain below him. He was only there for an instant before he stepped away from the edge, but Feliciano recognised him instantly.  
“Lovino…”

“We have to go in!” Feliciano yelled, starting to walk towards the hospital. Ludwig made a frustrated growl but followed, both of them weaving in between the quickly dispersing crowd. They could hear faint sirens in the distance.  
“Come on!” He urged, tugging Ludwig’s sleeve to make him walk faster. Feliciano slipped through the doors that were once glass, carefully avoiding the glass scattered on the ground, and peered into the hospital.

Glass and paperwork littered the ground. Most of the lights were broken but a few still flickered on and off. Ludwig glanced uneasily at a smear of blood on an overturned chair. The stairs that went to the patients rooms was pitch black. Feliciano’s breath caught in his throat. Maybe Angel would be able to help. He barely had to think of her name before she appeared, bursting into the room with a flash of light. Ludwig grumbled something rude.  
“Angel, please help us!” Feliciano said to his little fairy, which hovered impatiently in front of him.  
“Is there anything you can do?” he asked hopefully. Angel nodded. Slowly her body lit up like a lantern, glowing so brightly that they couldn’t look straight at her.  
“Oooh, look at what Angel can do!” Feliciano gasped. Ludwig shielded his eyes and nodded.  
“We need to hurry.” He muttered. No sooner had he said that than an awful groaning noise filled the hospital. With a crash something shattered somewhere above them.  
“Come on.” Ludwig commanded, marching towards the stairs.

Feliciano hated darkness. Anything could be in the black nothingness that surrounded them and it made him terrified. Angel’s glowing light was some relief from the pressing void of darkness but they couldn’t see very much in the dark corridor they were in.  
“Careful..” Ludwig said quietly. Feliciano saw he was gesturing towards an upturned table, the ground around which was dotted with large chunks of what once was a lilac vase. They carefully stepped through the debris. Almost all of the white doors were open. A few of them had marks or stains on them. Above them, broken lights sparked, emitting no light. A set of dark blue signs painted onto the wall beside them directed them towards radiology.  
“How do you get up to the roof?” Feliciano said curiously, trotting down the corridor. It had gone from being loud to scarily quiet. The only noise was the sound of sirens getting closer.  
“Over there.”

The stairs to the roof were bathed in light. Feliciano’s eyes adjusted slowly and he was still squinting when he helped Ludwig up. The sky above them was grey and the roofs all around them were orange and beige. But Feliciano ignored all of that. What he was interested in alone was his brother, standing in the middle of a painted helipad facing away from them. He was only a few metres away, close enough for them to hear his laboured breathing.  
“Lovino!” He cried, reaching out to him.  
“Feli, stop.” Ludwig demanded. Before Feliciano could reply, Lovino turned around. Feliciano gasped. Lovino’s eyes were wide and glassy, dried blood trailing down his cheek from long, thin cuts above his eyebrow. His mouth was open slightly as he took large, painful breaths. In his arms he held the limp body of Antonio.  
“Lovi…” Feliciano breathed, recoiling from the sight. Lovino’s mouth twisted itself into a grin.  
“I’m in agony.” He said, his words carrying a scary perkiness.  
“I can feel it in my mind. It’s controlling me, I can’t stop it. And it’s making me want to kill you!”


	5. Chapter 5

Sometimes fear is the fluttering in your heart when you lean in for a kiss. Occasionally fear is your stomach dropping as you stare out at expectant faces. This was a different fear. This fear was cold and sudden, a confused terror that gripped Feliciano so hard he could barely think. Lovino laughed, a ringing cackle that seemed to come from every direction.  
“I don’t want to hurt you, I really don’t!” He yelled. With an awful howling noise, Feliciano watched, petrified, as a red aura began to grow around Lovino. Before he could shy away from this, tendrils of the aura shot towards him and Ludwig.  
“Angel!” He shrieked, covering his face.

When he felt no pain, he opened his eyes. The tendrils were relentlessly attacking a translucent barrier that encased Ludwig, Feliciano and Angel. Feliciano watched in awe as what he could only describe as magic flowed from Angel’s body into the shield. It was growing weaker with every hit from Lovino’s aura, however. This momentary relief gave Feliciano the time to pull himself together.  
“Luddy, we need to get away.” He cried at Ludwig who still stood frozen. He blinked slowly and nodded.  
“Stay behind me.” He said, starting to back away from Lovino. The shield followed them, although by this point thin cracks were growing rapidly on its surface. Lovino laughed again.   
“Get away from me!” He shrieked, the tendrils doubling their force as they smashed at the barrier again and again. Crash! The barrier broke, the shards of it melting away into nothing. Feliciano broke into a run towards the steps back down into the hospital. Ludwig followed him, glancing back at the tendrils of smoke. One of them jabbed at him but he fended it off with a stone fist. Finally Feliciano was at the steps and he hurtled down them two at a time, ignoring the pain in his side that this caused. Angel flew to his shoulder and hung on tight as he ran blindly through corridors. He only stopped when he tripped over his own feet and slammed to the ground, sobbing. 

His own brother wanted to kill him. What had happened to Lovino? Was Antonio dead? It was too much to take in. Instead of trying to think about it he lay on the ground and curled into a ball. Angel hovered above him, projecting her delicate barrier around him. After a moment of silence, Feliciano forced himself to his feet. He had to find Ludwig and get the hell out of this hospital. Things had gone too quiet again. He walked down corridors as quietly as he could, fearfully glancing down hallways before he continued down them.  
“What else can you do?” He whispered to Angel as they wandered past a room that contained a body scanner of some kind. Angel responded by disappearing.  
“Angel?!” Feliciano hissed worriedly. He was about to call her name again when he felt an odd sensation in his back. He glanced over his shoulder and yelped. From his back two golden wings protruded. How did he use them? He tried moving the muscles in his back and gasped a little as the wings moved. He gave them a hesitant flap. His feet lifted off the ground for just a second before he landed rather heavily again.  
“That’s amazing, Angel!” He whispered with a smile. 

It took him two more nerve-wracking minutes to find Ludwig in the maze of a hospital. Occasionally he would hear a laugh echo through the corridors and he would race off the other direction as fast as he could. When he saw Ludwig, he ran to him and hugged him tightly.  
“What are those?” Was Ludwig’s first question.  
“Oh, they’re Angel.” Feliciano replied, tucking his wings close to his body.  
“Now please, let’s get out of here.” He said nervously. Ludwig nodded and held Feliciano’s hand tightly. No longer blindly looking for each other, they quickly found signs that directed them to the back exit of the hospital. Bursting into the sunlight, Feliciano gave a sigh of relief.  
“Oh, Angel, maybe you should stop doing that.” He said quietly. Just like that the wings disappeared, the now familiar weight gone. Unseen by the two, above them a figure flew away from the hospital, clawed wings outstretched and a malicious laugh pealing out across the sky.


	6. Chapter 6

“There are too many variables! We don’t know where he is or what he’s capable of. We need to go to the police.” Ludwig fretted. He’d been aggressively cleaning his apartment for an hour now and Feliciano was probably the only thing left that hadn’t been dusted, polished and organised; yesterday's events had left him rather rattled. Now seeming to have run out of energy he slumped down on the couch beside Feliciano, who was clicking away on Ludwig’s old laptop.  
“They’ll never believe you.” Feliciano murmured, eyes flicking from the screen to Ludwig’s face. His stern blue eyes were dark and gloomy. Feliciano gently put the laptop on the ground and shuffled up to be by Ludwig’s side.  
“Hey, you’re going to wear yourself out by worrying.” He said, resting his head on Ludwig’s shoulder. Ludwig sighed.  
“It seems like that’s all I can do right now. We’re getting nowhere while Lovino could be anywhere.” He muttered. Feliciano was silent for a moment, then his eyes widened in realisation.  
“If he’s left town, there have to be sightings of him, right? People are always uploading crazy stories like that on the internet.” He said. Slowly a smile grew on Ludwig’s face.  
“You’re a genius, Feli.” He said, giving him a kiss on the forehead before scooping up the laptop.

“Suzzara!” The yell was so loud that Feliciano jumped. He’d fallen asleep and looked blearily at Ludwig who was grinning triumphantly.  
“There have been four sightings of a man with ‘superhuman abilities’ in the same area of Suzzara. The first describes a man with a quote unquote ‘freaky aura’, two of them talk about a flying humanoid shape and the last one actually saw his face. The description is very like Lovino.” Ludwig was still tapping away at the laptop as he said this. Feliciano scrunched up his nose.  
“Suzzara is miles away! I don’t think any buses go that way. We need a car…” He said unhappily. This dampened Ludwig’s mood somewhat, but slowly his eyes brightened.  
“Do you think Gilbert would accompany us?”

Feliciano looked at the house uncertainly. Gilbert’s rather ramshackle house was right at the end of a dead end and the garden alone was enough to unsettle somebody. Somehow Gilbert had managed to grow weeds like flowers, so massive bushes that, in someone else’s property, would have been pulled out, were neatly clipped and far more beautiful than any rose bush could ever be. It was strange to see neat flower patches of bindweed and Feliciano was sure that if any gardeners lived near Gilbert, they hated him. The house itself was quite normal, save for part of the outside wall being slowly covered in ivy. An old Nissan Bluebird sat outside his house, its white metal sporting countless scratches.

Ludwig marched up to Gilbert’s front door and knocked impatiently. There was a loud thumping noise and Feliciano could hear someone stomping down a staircase. The door was flung open and Ludwig came face to face with his brother’s grin.  
“Little bro!” Gilbert cried, crushing Ludwig in a hug - no easy feat, given Ludwig’s large build. Ludwig struggled out of the embrace and smiled a little.  
“Hey, Gilbert. We need to talk to you about something important. Is it alright if we come in?” Ludwig asked. Gilbert looked at Feliciano and gasped.  
“Feliciano!” This time it was Feliciano’s turn for the crushing hug. When Gilbert let go he had to gasp a little for air.  
“Come in, come in!” Gilbert ushered them in, oblivious to Feliciano’s badly covered up coughing fit.

By the time Ludwig and Feliciano were sitting at Gilbert’s table, he’d somehow already managed to spirit a packet of biscuits out of nowhere.  
“So.” He said, dramatically taking a biscuit.  
“What did you want to talk to me about?”  
“Uh… You know Lovino, my brother, right? Well, he’s kind of gone insane and has superhuman powers that make him really really powerful, and he’s got Antonio and we found out that he’s in Suzzara right now, so we need to use your car.”  
“Okay… Wait, what?”


	7. Chapter 7

To say that Gilbert took it well would be a lie, and a big one at that. He nearly fainted when he saw Ludwig’s stone arm, and he was very suspicious of Angel (who was now somehow nibbling at a biscuit despite the apparent lack of a mouth). After a large cup of hot chocolate and a few minutes of staring at Ludwig’s arm, Gilbert seemed ready to make a comment. He took a deep breath.  
“That’s some fucking crazy-ass shit you got yourself into.” He said. Then he grinned.  
“But I’d be an asshole of a big brother if I didn’t help you guys get to Suzzara.”

There were some things that Ludwig had correctly assumed would happen on the trip. The first was that Gilbert would need to stop to get petrol and snacks. The second was that he would listen to German death metal that was so rude Ludwig’s ears went pink. The third and final assumption was that they would get lost.  
“What the hell? This isn’t where the lady in my GPS said we should be.” Gilbert said, staring up at the sign they’d pulled over close to. ‘Moglio’ It proclaimed blandly. He shrugged.  
“We’re only a little off course. Let’s get some lunch!”

The town of Moglio was very small and they quickly found a quaint cafe to eat at. Sitting at one of the light yellow tables and tucking into a somewhat limp sandwich, Feliciano noticed a group enter the cafe. They were very loud, all young men. He was trying to ignore them when what they said made him frown.  
“Crazy, huh?” The tallest of them, a redhead with a booming voice, laughed.  
“Marco said he saw this guy surrounded in, like, red mist or something. He yelled something at him and he ran off. I think he just had one too many drinks.” The group laughed. The tall man continued, inspecting the menu as he spoke.  
“And there were some tourists staring at Marco yelling at this imaginary guy, right? And this blond one goes to follow him, and he neeever came baack!” The man cried in a mock scary voice. Feliciano nearly choked on his lettuce. Lovino had been through here? He nudged Ludwig’s shoulder.  
“We need to look around this town.” He said quietly, watching the group sharply as they left.

“If he’s already been through and left, what’s the point?” Gilbert complained as they wandered the streets of Moglio. A fairly worn down town, most of the buildings they encountered were pale and faded, the sidewalk in front of them dotted with weeds. Ludwig shook his head.  
“They said someone went after him. That tourist could well be injured.” Ludwig said severely. Gilbert raised his hands in surrender.  
“Alright, no need to get antsy.” He grumbled. They went around a corner and came to a halt - this was where the town suddenly ended, turning into forest. Gilbert scrunched up his nose.  
“If you were being controlled by a super crazy super power and you wanted to kill someone, this is totally that kind of forest.” He commented. Feliciano swallowed.  
“We need to go in..” He said, and uncertainly stepped in between the towering trees.

“It’s nice and warm up here!” Feliciano said happily as he soared above the trees. He’d had the idea of getting an aerial view of the forest, but had found flying no easy task. With some help from Angel he was now slowly gliding above the forest, looking down at the trees flitting past. Ludwig and Gilbert were combing through the trees, but they all knew the chances of finding the tourist were slim. The man at the cafe may have been making things up - but they couldn’t risk it.  
“Flying is so much fun- wait, what’s that?” Feliciano frowned and slowly descended. Was the glimpse of something white a trick of the light? He landed with a thud and his legs buckled. Pulling himself off the ground, the wings shimmered away and Angel reappeared, sitting on his shoulder - it had quickly become her favourite place.  
“Hello?” Feliciano called, walking towards the thing he’d seen. He looked at a tree and his eyes widened. It was the middle of summer, but ice covered one side of the trunk. He saw a person through the trees, and started to run towards them.  
“Hey! Hello, are you alright?” He called. They whirled to face him and raised their hand. Feliciano yelped as a patch of white light appeared on the person’s hand, and a rain of hail flew from it towards him.  
“Shield!” He screamed, Angel’s shield appearing at the last second. The hail smashed against the barrier, shards flying everywhere. The man attacking him was certainly blond, with longish hair and wide blue eyes. A painful grin was plastered on his face and his red jumper was covered in snow and ice.  
“Who are you?” Feliciano gasped, staring in terror at the man. The hail had stopped and they watched each other, neither moving. The man stretched his hand out again and another flurry of hail flew at him. The barrier mostly held but the force of the hail started to break patches of it. Some of the hail hit his legs and he winced as they burned with cold and the force of the impact. The man laughed and said something in english. Feliciano didn’t understand anything except the word ‘help’.


	8. Chapter 8

“Stop! I’m trying to help!” Feliciano cried. The shield was starting to flicker so he dived behind a tree, wincing as the snow and ice smashed against the tree trunk.  
“I’m coming!” He heard Ludwig’s roar and gave a sigh of relief. The barrage of hail stopped suddenly. Feliciano nervously peeked around the trunk and gasped. All around the blond man, snow and ice flew around like a tiny tornado. He saw Ludwig and Gilbert burst into the scene, breathing heavily. Gilbert instantly yelped and dived behind a tree. Ludwig started to run towards the whirling snow, the ice making his hair go white. Feliciano now saw the resemblance in the two brothers. Wow, they really were similar. He was forced from this musing as Ludwig was pushed to the ground by the force of the tornado. With an annoyed grunt he stood up and closed his eyes. His feet quickly became stone, effectively keeping him grounded. He started to stomp towards the snow comedically, but the gusts of wind created by the snow were still too much for him.

“What the fuck do we do?” Gilbert yelled over the deafening sound of the wind. Feliciano’s brow furrowed. Then he had an idea.  
“Angel, please give me wings!” He cried. Instantly the golden angel’s wings were on his back, the tips of them brushing against the tree trunk. With a few powerful flaps he was off the ground, and he maneuvered himself towards Ludwig and the miniature tornado.  
“I’ll keep the wind back!” He screamed over the noise. He beat his wings as forcefully as he could at the wind. The snow and hail went spinning erratically through the air in every direction, but at least it wasn’t creating the tornado anymore. Ludwig marched forward slowly, squinting against the still vicious gale of ice. Slowly but surely he approached the man, whose arms were outstretched as he controlled the cold hurricane.  
“I can’t… Do this much longer…” Feliciano huffed, wings still beating back and forth. He could no longer see Ludwig through the wall of ice. Gilbert yelled something but he didn’t catch what it was. There was a piercing scream, and the snow suddenly fell to the ground like a duck shot out of the sky.

Feliciano instantly slumped to the ground, back aching.  
“Thank you, Angel..” He murmured. The wings disappeared as quickly as they had come. Gilbert helped the tired Italian to his feet and the two nervously approached the snowy scene. Ludwig’s stone foot was planted firmly on the chest of their writhing, kicking assailant. Around the two, the grass and ground was completely covered in snow. As Feliciano came closer to them he saw a blue shard of some type of gem was embedded in the man’s forehead. Ludwig reached down and tugged at the shard. It didn’t move. The man screamed something in English, still wearing a contorted grin. Feliciano knelt down beside his head, glancing anxiously at the flailing hands.  
“Please, do you speak Italian?” He asked as Ludwig continued to inspect the shard. In response the man swiped at Feliciano, sharp nails drawing blood on his arm.  
“Hey!” He yelped, jerking his arm back. Ludwig’s glare darkened. With an almighty jerk, the shard was ripped from the man’s head. The yelling and struggling instantly stopped. The shard had left no mark or indent and no blood had been drawn from its removal. Ludwig immediately took his foot off the man.  
“Jesus, Feli, you alright?” Gilbert asked. Feliciano nodded in response, staring at the man. He was starting to slowly sit up, a look of dazed confusion on his face.  


“Do you remember your name?” Feliciano asked gently. The man stared at him blankly.  
“Hold on, I speak English. Kind of.” Gilbert interjected. After a brief conversation with the man, Gilbert turned to his comrades.  
“His name is Matthew, he’s Canadian and he has no idea how in the hell he got here.” He informed them. Matthew was indeed looking completely lost. He swallowed.  
“W-Winter…. Sorry.” He said quietly, gesturing to the snow. He looked at Feliciano, with Angel perched on his shoulder. He stared at Ludwig, who was still glaring at him suspiciously. He smiled at Gilbert. Then he fainted.


	9. Chapter 9

Quite surprisingly, it hadn’t been very hard at all to find a motel that would take them in for a night, no questions asked. Feliciano was pretty sure he’d heard the surly owner mutter ‘Goddamn druggies’. They were now huddled around the room’s small table, glancing at the unconscious Matthew now lain out on one of the two beds. He twitched occasionally, which rather put Feliciano on edge.  
“How long do you think he was wandering the forest?” Gilbert asked. He was boredly scrolling through something on his phone. Clearly bluffing this disinterest, every few seconds he glanced at Matthew’s sleeping figure.  
“He could have been there since yesterday.” Ludwig replied with a frown.  
“It’s lucky we found him when we did. If he’d been left to his own devices he probably would have eventually iced the town.” He continued. Feliciano shrugged.  
“If I hadn’t overheard those guys talking in the cafe-” He shuddered at the thought. A quiet moan came from the bed and everyone jumped. Matthew sat up and yawned. His glasses were askew and he gently corrected them. He then stared at the three sitting at the table and said something quietly in English. Gilbert grinned and tapped away furiously at his phone.  
“Google translate is a blessing to us all.” He proclaimed, handing the phone to Matthew. With a quiet ‘thank you’, he meticulously typed something in.  
“Who are you?” He said slowly. Feliciano had a feeling that introductions would take a while.

“Oh Brenda! We could have been together forever!” Feliciano didn’t pay much attention to the romantic comedy playing on the small television. His mind was too full of thoughts. Where was Lovino? Was he hurt? Was he still with Antonio? And what about Matthew? Gilbert had hit it off with him terrifically and the two were currently having faltering conversation through the medium of google translate.  
“You and Ludwig, brothers?” Matthew asked. Gilbert nodded and grinned.  
“And Feliciano?” Matthew’s pronunciation was truly terrible, but Gilbert didn’t comment on it. Some more tapping ensued, and after reading what Gilbert said, Matthew blushed a little. The door to the adjoining bathroom creaked open and Ludwig entered, hair still messy from his shower. He looked so different without it slicked back…  
“Oi, guys, it’s like, ten thirty and I’m tired as shit. Turn the tv off. Looks like I’m gonna be the one crashing on the couch, huh.” Gilbert complained. Feliciano compliantly turned off the television, the man crooning to Brenda flickering out of life. Matthew started to type furiously on the phone.  
“How do I get back to my group of tourists?” He asked Gilbert nervously.   
“That’s a question for tomorrow morning, bud.” Gilbert replied before realising that he needed to translate it. Matthew smiled slightly and nodded. His blue, almost lavender eyes looked melancholy as he handed the phone back to Gilbert.

“Ludwig?” Feliciano whispered to the slumbering man beside him. The small digital clock by the side of the bed proclaimed that it was just past midnight. Faint moonlight streamed in through the window into the small motel room, illuminating it just enough for Feliciano to see the snoring figure of Gilbert in the corner. Matthew’s figure in the bed beside his rose and fell silently.  
“What is it?” Ludwig murmured back, turning to face him. Feliciano bit his lip.  
“I’m scared.” He confessed quietly.  
“I’m scared of Lovino and I’m scared for him. And this is still all so new and strange-” He broke off into tears, unsuccessfully trying to stop them from rolling down his cheeks. Ludwig drew him close to his chest and Feliciano felt the beat of his heart, calming him with its constant rhythm.  
“Everything is going to be alright. I’ll keep you safe.” Ludwig murmured. Feliciano’s eyes started to drift closed, Ludwig’s warm embrace relaxing him. In no time at all he was asleep, his sleep fraught with nightmares of flame and death.

“Get up! Get up!” Feliciano’s rest was abruptly halted by Gilbert shaking his shoulder. It was almost dawn, the sky a navy blue.  
“Dude, wake up!” Gilbert hissed. Feliciano slowly sat up. The bed beside him was empty.  
“Look at the news.” He muttered, pointing at the television. Matthew was sitting up in bed, watching it with a confused expression. On the screen, a reporter was talking quickly in front of what used to be a warehouse. The warehouse was a shell - some sort of explosion had destroyed the sides and roof and only the foundations and rubble remained. The writing on the bottom of the screen made Feliciano’s heart skip a beat.  
‘Unknown person destroys warehouse in Suzzara, two dead, five injured.’


	10. Chapter 10

“It had to be him. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Gilbert argued. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Ludwig, in the seat beside him, shook his head.  
“We don’t know that yet. You’re always jumping to conclusions.” He muttered. Feliciano sat with Angel on his lap in the back with Matthew, who looked totally lost. Feliciano felt compelled to explain the situation to him - they’d had no time to tell him what was going on, they’d just urged him into the car. It was still only just dawn. The sun crept up over Moglio, which they were about to leave.  
“We think the person that blew up the warehouse was my brother.” Feliciano said, seeing if Matthew would understand. A flicker of recognition passed over the Canadian man’s face.  
“Brother?” He repeated, pointing at Feliciano. He nodded and smiled. His heart ached with sorrow for Lovino, but he had to be strong.  
“Yes, my brother.” He said. Matthew was quickly picking up odd words in Italian and despite their dire situation, Feliciano couldn’t help but smile.  
“He’s in Suzzara. That’s where we’re going.” He said, and Matthew frowned but nodded. He gestured for Feliciano to watch him and closed his eyes. In his open palm, a snowflake started to grow. Feliciano gasped in delight.  
“It’s beautiful!” He said in wonder. Angel reached up and gently touched the snowflake with a graceful limb - it burst into a tiny powder of ice. She recoiled back onto Feliciano’s lap. Matthew smiled shyly at Feliciano and took a deep breath. All around them snowflakes blossomed in the air, hanging like christmas decorations all around them. Feliciano watched them in wonder. They were like constellations against the black car roof, sparkling and shimmering. Gilbert braked hard to go around a corner and the snowflakes dropped, instantly melting into nothing.  
“Hey, let’s try and learn some Italian! Want to play I spy?” Feliciano said with a smile. Matthew looked at him curiously but nodded.  
“I spy with my little eye…. something red!”

  


“Holy shit, it looks so much worse up close.” Gilbert breathed. Feliciano nodded silently. The husk of the warehouse was in front of them, surrounded by orange tape. The sky above them was a startling blue, a sharp contrast from the bleak scene in front of them. Blackened wood lay in ash and charcoal. A yellow work hat lay on a sheet of metal, the only fragment of colour.  
“Lovino… He wouldn’t…” Feliciano breathed. Gilbert pursed his lips but didn’t respond. Angel took one look at the burnt building and disappeared.  
“I - I need to sit down.” Feliciano said slowly. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears, and his heart thumping in his chest. He staggered to a bench nearby and slumped down on it, staring at the warehouse. Matthew sat next to him.  
“Do not be sad.” He said quietly.  
“It is… It is… We are find him.” He said.  
“We - we will find him.” Feliciano corrected faintly. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut - every breath was a struggle.  
“We will find him.” Matthew repeated. Feliciano nodded a little, wiped away the beginnings of a tear and stood up. His heart was still fluttering like a wounded dove, but he'd regained some of his composure.

Ludwig and Gilbert were arguing, both looking thunderous.  
“We’re out of our league, dammit! I don’t want to get killed! You can protect yourself with your fancy-ass powers. I have _nothing ___.” Gilbert hissed.  
“If we don’t stop him, who can? This isn’t just about your safety.” Ludwig growled back. Slowly realising they were being watched by Matthew and Feliciano, they looked away from each other, silent.  
“We have more important things to worry about.” Ludwig muttered, marching away. Feliciano slowly followed him. Gilbert started to unhappily follow them but was startled to find Matthew in front of him. Jesus, the man was almost as tall as him but could still somehow sneak around you like a cat.  
“I… I have you safe.” Matthew said solemnly. Gilbert smiled a little.  
“Thanks, buddy.” He said, patting his shoulder and starting to walk again. He wouldn’t admit it to himself, but Matthew was actually kind of cute.

By the time they had reached the main street of town, the group had calmed down a bit. While Gilbert persisted to grumpily glare at Ludwig behind his back, most of the tension was gone between them. The scene around them was truly beautiful, which helped them relax. Old stores with charming storefronts were filled with antiques, and many quaint cafes had people drifting in and out of them with steaming coffee in their hands. Feliciano pulled out his wallet and his heart sank. Only ten dollars left - he was reluctant to use his card. He’d never been particularly wealthy, and it seemed that saving the world was an expensive practice. Gilbert saw his downcast face and tugged his own wallet out of his back trouser pocket.  
“It’s okay, dude. I don’t mind paying for you.” He said with a grin. Feliciano gratefully smiled back.  
“Thanks.” He replied, putting away his wallet. Suddenly the relative tranquility of the street was broken with a piercing scream. Feliciano shot a panicked look at Gilbert, and all four of them broke into a run. Whoever it was screamed again and they followed the sound down a thin alleyway. A woman ran out past them, sobbing and clutching a handbag close to herself. Pressed against the back of the alley and snarling, Antonio stood, bloody arms trembling.


	11. Chapter 11

“Antonio… Oh my god..” Feliciano breathed, staring at the man before him. Antonio’s shirt was ripped and bloody, the fabric that had once been yellow now red and brown. In the back of his hand a fragment of some kind of rock protruded, black and slick.   
“You have to help me.” He gasped, blood mixed with saliva dripping from his lips. Gilbert took a slow step forward.  
“Antonio, it’s okay, we’re here to help. Just calm down a little.” He said, a hand outstretched. Antonio grinned, his teeth gleaming.  
“Lovino did this to me. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” He said quietly. His eyes flashed yellow.  
“Help me.” He whispered. His body convulsed into a spasm, fingers curling in and back bent.  
“Get back, Gil.” Ludwig warned, balling his hands into fists. Antonio’s face was pulled into a grimace. He started to grow, the tatters of his shirt ripping more as his chest puffed out. Great claws grew on his massive hands.  
“A… A werewolf?” Feliciano breathed, eyes wide. Matthew took a terrified step back.   
“No. A werelion.” Ludwig replied quietly. Antonio snarled. His body was covered in golden fur, a great mane on his neck. His face was that of a Lion’s, massive jaws sporting huge white teeth. Bigger than any Lion on Earth, he dwarfed the four who stared at him in horror. With a roar he leapt at them.

“No!” Matthew yelled, hands outstretched. Between them and Antonio a great wall of ice grew. Antonio smashed against it, scratching and growling at the barrier. It was a miracle that nobody had noticed them before this, but now people were starting to wonder what on Earth was happening down in the alley. The screams began when Antonio broke through the ice, tail lashing.   
“Get out of here!” Gilbert roared at the crowd, which gladly did so. Antonio swiped at them with a massive paw. Feliciano screamed and dived to the ground. He felt the fur brush his head. Ludwig instantly turned to stone but his immobile figure was thrown at the side of the alley. Settling to the ground with a resounding thud he turned back and jumped to his feet. The shoulder he had fallen on was bruised and bloody despite its stone protection.  
“Matthew, do something!” He yelled at the petrified Canadian. With a slight jump Matthew nodded and stared up at Antonio. All around the beast Antonio had become, pillars of ice shot up forming a cage. Icicle spikes flew at him but Antonio seemed to barely feel them.  
“Come on.” Ludwig yelled, helping Feliciano to his feet. They ran out of the alleyway with Gilbert and Matthew hot on their heels.

Antonio roared, the noise so loud that Feliciano’s ears rang. Stone crept up Ludwig’s arm and he swung at the approaching Lion, fist smashing against Antonio’s snout. With a howl Antonio bit down at Ludwig.  
“No!” Feliciano screamed, jumping to his side. Thump! Antonio’s snout hit Angel’s barrier and Feliciano breathed a sigh of relief.  
“We can’t win this. We need to run away.” Feliciano begged. Ludwig glared up at Antonio, who was inspecting the barrier with his sparkling yellow eyes.   
“Holy shit guys, look at this!” Gilbert whooped. Feliciano glanced at him and his eyes widened. Brandishing the top of a garbage can as a shield, in his right hand he held a sword of ice, the hilt wrapped in some kind of fabric.  
“Gilbert, you idiot, don’t!” Ludwig yelled.   
“For Narnia!” The blade of the sword was plunged into Antonio’s front leg and he reared, howling.  
“I guess Aslan went evil.” Gilbert said with a grin, notioning for Feliciano and Ludwig to follow him. They raced away from Antonio as the shield flickered away.  
“Wait, look, he isn’t following us!” Feliciano said, pointing behind them. Sure enough, Antonio was recoiling back into the alleyway. He jumped onto the side and pulled himself onto the roof of an old brick building. With one powerful leap he was out of sight.

“We must go to Antonio. He go where Lovino is.” Matthew said falteringly. Gilbert nodded.  
“Damn, fighting him was fun as hell, but I don’t really want to do it again. But for the sake of, like, everyone, I will do it for my country.” He declared. Ludwig rolled his eyes.  
“You could have got yourself killed.” He grumbled.  
“But… Good job.” He conceded. Gilbert grinned but soon an unusually serious expression was on his face.  
“How the hell are we supposed to follow ‘Toni? He’s a giant Lion, if you hadn’t noticed, and he goes fast as shit.” He complained. Feliciano raised his eyebrows.  
“Wings, please.” He asked.   
“Wow.” Matthew breathed as Feliciano’s angelic wings appeared.  
“I’ll find where he’s going. I’ll be back soon!” Feliciano promised. Ludwig smiled slightly.  
“Be safe.” He said as Feliciano ascended into the cloudless sky.


	12. Chapter 12

This flight was nowhere as calming as the flight over the forest had been. Feliciano’s nerves were frayed to the point that a car alarm going off in the distance almost made his wings lock up, which would have sent him plummeting down to the asphalt roads below. His eyes jumped skittishly around the scenery, searching for what should have been an easily found adversary but was turning out to be the opposite. Suzzara was a relatively small town and he was already nearing the edge. Below him were roads full of people and cars going about their daily business. What if they saw him? He’d just have to hope they didn’t glance up; there were more important things at hand than keeping his wings secret. From above the colourful buildings looked like lego blocks creating a massive abstract mosaic. But where was Antonio? 

Feliciano glided down to a field just outside of town, relatively hidden by a copse of trees. He’d almost got the hang of landing and this time his legs didn’t buckle under him - although he did need to run forwards to avoid falling face first into the grass. He sighed.  
“I’ve failed, Angel.” He sighed. He looked back at the town, but all he could see behind the trees were rooftops. Wait. What was that silhouette against the glare of the sun? It was a humanoid shape but not quite, with a hunched over back and feline ears.  
“Antonio.” Feliciano whispered, frozen. What if Antonio saw him? Every breath felt like a cacophony of noise. In a few seconds the silhouette moved away and Feliciano sighed with relief.  
“Come on, Angel, let’s follow him.” 

Even though Feliciano knew he was near Antonio, following him still wasn’t easy. Antonio managed to run through the shadows faster than any human ever could, and his powerful legs could jump over huge gaps between store roofs. Eventually Feliciano followed him out of town and into the open. Antonio charged down a dirt road, reverting to his fully Lion form. Around him was only yellow grass and an old fence, nowhere to hide. In the distance was a small barn, light brown and rustic. Antonio raced towards it too fast for Feliciano to keep up. Instead, Feliciano landed surprisingly gracefully and pulled out his phone. His eyes glanced over Lovino’s number on his contact list. He must have tried it dozens of times after Lovino had run away, but he’d never picked up. Feliciano wondered what he’d really expected. He called Ludwig, facing away from the barn. It was too distracting knowing that Lovino could be in there.  
“Ludwig, I think I know where Lovino is.” Feliciano said breathlessly. Ludwig brusquely asked where.  
“It’s out of town, to the north. Please come quickly! Hold on, my phone’s running out of power. Sorry, come soon.” He ended the call with a sigh. What was it about phones that let them know just when you needed them most, so that they ran out of power at that exact moment?

Feliciano felt a drop of liquid on his head. He peered in front of him at the pale blue sky. Why was it raining if there were no clouds? Another drop fell on his shoulder. Ew, what was this stuff? It was slimy and thick. Then his eyes widened. He slowly looked above him. Antonio’s bared jaws were above him, saliva dripping off his sharp canine teeth. In an instant Antonio plunged his teeth into Feliciano’s wings.  
“Get off me!” Feliciano screamed, lifted off the ground. His wings disappeared and he fell to the ground with a thump. Without him having to ask - and a good thing too, as he was winded - the shield appeared around him. It was no use, however. Antonio lifted his front paw and smashed down on the barrier which broke instantly. With a roar he trapped Feliciano down with a single paw. It was so large that it was almost the width of Feliciano’s chest.  
“No, no, Antonio, please! It’s me, Feliciano! Oh god, please!” He cried, breath coming in short shallow gasps. Antonio swiped at him with claws outstretched, and the world went black.


	13. Chapter 13

When Feliciano woke up, everything was dark and fuzzy. It took his burning eyes a while to adjust. He was in a large, enclosed space, right in the corner. On the wooden ground around him was dust and hay. He turned his head but he winced, a dull ache coming from his left shoulder. He gently touched his shoulder and his hand came away smeared with blood.  
“Good afternoon, brother.” The voice came from all around him. He glanced about wildly to find the voice. It sounded like Lovino’s, but distorted and as if he were breathing right in Feliciano’s ear. The only other person Feliciano could see was Antonio, slumped against the side of the barn, half closed yellow eyes watching him.  
“You shouldn’t have come here.” Lovino hissed. A dark shape darted down from the roof like a bat and landed gracefully on the floor of the barn.  
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He continued. The shape gained detail and as the shadow disappeared around him, Lovino was exposed. Pale red scratch marks dragged down both his cheeks and his wide red eyes held no emotion. The awful grin was still on his face. Feliciano involuntarily shivered. His brother was a slave in his own mind.  
“Please, Lovino, you have to fight against it!” He pleaded, slowly propping himself up with his unhurt arm.  
“My god, Feli, you don’t think I’ve tried?” Lovino’s eyes flashed brown, betraying his terror. His eyes slowly closed and he bowed his head. All around him, the red aura of smoke thickened and started to draw closer to Feliciano. He pressed himself against the wall.  
“Don’t do this.” He said, eyes wide. Lovino’s smile grew. The aura’s tendrils wrapped around Feliciano. It felt like fire was burning his flesh. His mind raced back to the explosion and he couldn’t help but scream. It was suffocating him, enveloping him in a blackness like he had never experienced. It was invading his mind, too, the screams and whispers making him want to scratch his ears off.  
“At least I’ll make sure you’re protected…” Lovino’s voice was far, far away.

“Where is he?” Ludwig frowned as the car approached the barn. Gilbert shrugged, wrenching the wheel hard as the battered nissan squealed to a stop.  
“In the barn?” Matthew suggested quietly. Car doors were flung open in an orchestra of squeaks.  
“Get that damn thing oiled.” Ludwig muttered at Gilbert, who grinned hollowly back.  
“This baby’ll be fine without you mothering it, Luddypoo.” He replied mirthlessly. His expression was unusually serious. They all stared up at the closed barn doors.  
“Would it be rude to knock?” Gilbert said, neck craned to stare up at the roof. When nobody responded he shrugged and rapped on the door sharply. It creaked open slightly.  
“Bad idea..” Matthew murmured, grumbling something in english. Gilbert only caught the word ‘fuck’. He pushed the door open further. Inside it was dim, but the trio were able to make out basic shapes.   
“Feli?” Ludwig called into the barn, stepping in front of Gilbert. His voice echoed back at him but otherwise there was no reply. From the corner of his eye he saw something move at the back of the barn.  
“Back.” He warned, waving Gilbert and Matthew away. They stepped back hesitantly.  
“Feliciano? Is that you? It’s me, Ludwig.” He waited for a response but received none.   
“I wish you would stay away from me.” A voice moaned from the barn, like trees rustling in the wind. Ludwig saw something move again and he could now see that it was a person with long, outstretched wings.  
“It wants me to possess you, to put its spell on you. To make you like me!” The voice cackled. It was Lovino’s. Ludwig slowly backed away from the barn, stone fists held high in a fighting stance. 

Antonio staggered out of the barn first. His bloodshot yellow eyes glanced feverishly from one person to the next, hovering on Matthew for a split second longer than the rest. Then Lovino strolled into the sunlight. Great batlike wings were spread out to either side of him, his wingspan on each side easily longer than his height. The smoke which nearly seemed a part of him pooled at his feet, curling up his legs. His jeans and black top looked so out of place it would have been comical in a less godawful situation. Sunken eyes and pale skin gave him an almost wraithlike appearance. Another person walked out of the darkness of the barn and into the sunlight and Ludwig frowned.  
“Feliciano?” He murmured. But what he saw was an angelic paladin. Medieval armor covered every inch of the person save for a horizontal slit in the helmet to see out of. A golden longsword was held in its gauntlets and golden wings stretched out behind it. Set in the middle of the chestplate was a chunk of black gem of some kind, just like the one lodged in the back of Antonio’s hand.  
“Don’t worry about Feliciano. I-” Lovino broke off, sounding choked.  
“I let my metal guard take care of him.” He said in a voice that wasn’t his own. Ludwig’s eyes widened.  
“No. No!” He yelled, face red with rage. Gilbert grabbed his arm.  
“Calm down, little brother. You have to keep calm.” Gilbert demanded. Ludwig glared at Lovino but said nothing. Lovino laughed, grinning widely.  
“Let the game begin!”


	14. Chapter 14

Feliciano felt like a heavy weight was pressed against his chest. His limbs moved of their own accord and the thoughts racing through his mind weren’t his own. Kill, kill, kill, they chanted. He could only see a little bit of the world around him, his eyes unable to adjust in the half dark, half light environment. His hands were clasped around something. A staff? No, a sword. He was walking towards someone. He couldn’t stop himself no matter how hard he tried.  
“Are you one of the tourists?” He heard a muffled voice asked. He forced his mouth open to scream for help. Instead, all that he said, in a crazed laugh, was,  
“Kill.”

Gilbert circled his armored adversary warily. Matthew had crafted him a new ice sword and he held it tightly.   
“What does it matter who you are. I’m going to beat the shit out of you if Feli’s dead. A good old sword fight, huh?” He said to his opponent.   
“Kill.” Was the only reply. With a furious roar Gilbert swung at the angelic knight, their swords connecting with a loud crash. They held each other in a lock, pushing forward with all their might. Gilbert’s glare blackened further. He darted out of the way, letting the knight’s weight push themself off balance. As the knight stumbled forward he brought his sword down as hard as he could on their back. Whoever was inside the heavy suit of steel fell to the ground. Gilbert moved to plunge the butt of his sword down at his head but was knocked over by a giant wing. The sword flew out of his hand and shattered on the ground into thousands of shards of ice. The knight’s sword, too, had clattered off away from him. They both stared at it.  
“Finders keepers.” Gilbert muttered, running towards the sword.

Gilbert and Matthew were having no more luck with Antonio. As Lovino hovered above the battlefield, demonic wings flapping leisurely, the duo fended off attack after merciless attack. Ludwig’s stone fist punched Antonio’s gaping maw and Antonio retaliated by biting down hard on his hand.  
“Matthew, get him the hell off me!” Ludwig yelled as Antonio pushed him to the ground, his stone hand still locked in his jaws.  
“I am trying!” Matthew cried back. With a grunt Ludwig turned completely to stone - and just in time, too, because Antonio decided that his head would be the next target. Matthew took a shaky breath.  
“I just need to freeze him. You can do it, Matt.” He murmured to himself in his native tongue. With a terrified yell he held his hands out in front of him and concentrated on channeling his power at Antonio. Tough, blue tinted ice crept up Antonio’s hind legs as his forelegs scratched and battered at Ludwig’s impenetrable defenses. It covered Antonio’s body like a vine, crisscrossing over itself and picking up speed as it spun around him. Then Matthew closed his eyes, grimaced, and Antonio began to lift into the air. His tail lashed furiously and he dug his teeth into Ludwig’s hand.  
“Shit.” Matthew muttered. Ludwig was now hanging a good three metres from the ground by only his left hand. Flesh and hair replaced Ludwig’s stone head.  
“I can’t do this any longer!” He cried down at Matthew, brow furrowed but eyes showing fear. Slowly the stone crept away from his neck, then his shoulders. Antonio growled through his mouthful of rock and jerked his head back and forth. Then it happened. 

Snap! Ludwig’s left hand broke off, instantly reverting to normal in Antonio’s jaws. Ludwig slammed to the ground. He could only keep the area around what was left of his wrist as stone, but he knew that would only be temporary. As soon as he stopped he would feel the agony of his lost hand. With a horrified exclamation, Matthew’s anger grew. In a blind fury of revenge he tightened the cage of ice. It constricted around Antonio and immobilised him fully. A block of ice smashed down on his skull and he went limp. Slowly Matthew let down the ice-surrounded Lion and allowed the cold embrace to melt away into nothing. He dropped to his knees, chest heaving from the effort. Ludwig sat up. He felt like shit. He looked at where his left hand should be. He looked up at Gilbert, tussling with the paladin for ownership of the sword. He glanced at Lovino, still flying high above.   
“Come the fuck down here and fight me, Lovino!” He screamed, standing up. Lovino laughed.  
“Honestly, I have to do all the work around here! It was great fun watching you flail about.” He exclaimed chirpily. The paladin suddenly slumped to the ground. Gilbert held up the sword with a triumphant yell but trailed off when he saw Lovino delicately land on the still icy grass. His calm demeanour was interrupted by an attack of twitches.  
“The shard. Remove the-” He gasped, but then he was back to his entranced state. He lazily raised an arm. His fingernails were long and sharp. He pointed at Ludwig.  
“I think I’ll possess you first.” He cooed.


	15. Chapter 15

Feliciano lay on the ground. His mind burned with thousands of voices chanting and shrieking. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t see. So he just lay there. He could hear voices muffled and far away but the words just sounded like the patter of rain. Was this what it felt like to be dead? Was he dead? He didn’t want to feel like this for eternity. The voices continued their incantation.

“Like hell you will.” Ludwig thundered. He could feel a mild ache from his wrist. He couldn’t hold off the pain much longer. Lovino strolled closer to Ludwig, hand still reaching out towards him.  
“No!” Matthew yelled. Snow began to accumulate around him. Lovino smirked and gently flicked a finger in Matthew’s direction. Matthew gasped as he was thrown back, as if he’d been punched in the gut. The snow melted away and he tried to get up, but was forced down by an unseen weight. Smoke curled around his limbs, trapping him to the ground. Lovino turned his attention back to Ludwig.  
“You’re just playing with us.” Ludwig said in disgust.  
“You could possess us all, right now.” He continued. Lovino shrugged.  
“Where’s the fun in that?” He asked, and gently touched Ludwig’s chest with one finger. Ludwig made no move to attack him; all his focus was on trying to turn himself to stone. It didn’t work. With a gasp Ludwig convulsed as a sharp pain attacked his chest. 

It felt like acid was in his veins. Everything burned and felt like it was being eaten away. He couldn’t help but scream. Faintly he could hear Lovino laughing. His vision started to tunnel. Oh god, this was it. A tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind, telling him to murder, to hate, to attack anything and everything. His head pounded. Then suddenly - it was gone.

He gasped and fell to his knees as the pain receded and his vision returned. He stared around himself. He didn’t feel possessed. He stared up at Lovino. He was staring down at his chest in slight surprise. The shard was badly cracked. Gilbert’s sword was driven into the centre. Lovino opened his mouth slightly.  
“What a shame…” He murmured. The shard fell away, a little at a time, until it was completely gone.  
“Forgot about me, didn’t you?” Gilbert said triumphantly, pulling the sword away. Lovino turned his head slowly to stare at him. His eyes were blank and glassy. He fell forwards onto Ludwig.  
“What have I done?” Lovino whispered. Then his eyes closed.

“He’s unconscious.” Ludwig said, gently laying him on the grass. The battlefield wore fresh scars. Some of the grass was still frozen, and great trenches were carved where Antonio had slammed down his paws. The barn itself was untouched. Gilbert dropped the sword and ran to Matthew, helping him up. He was pale but mostly unhurt.   
“You were very strong.” He said with a slight smile at Gilbert, who blushed a little. 

Ludwig slowly walked to the armored angel still limp on the ground. The wings had disappeared. He kneeled down next to them.  
“Who are you?” He asked quietly. He gently pulled off the helmet. Whoever he saw was the man who murdered the man he loved most. Locks of auburn hair tumbled out. Feliciano stared up at him with half closed eyes.  
“Ludwig…”  
“Oh my god.” Ludwig scooped him up in his arms and held him tightly, the metal cold against his skin.  
“I thought you were dead.” He said shakily, tears falling from his nose.  
“I couldn’t stop him, Ludwig. I tried to kill Gilbert… I don’t deserve to still be alive, I’m not worth saving...” Feliciano breathed.  
“No, you’re wrong.” Ludwig replied fiercely.  
“You were brave. You could never have stopped him. Gilbert’s fine. It’s not your fault.” He continued.  
“Love is worth fighting for, and I love you more than anything in the world.”


	16. Chapter 16

The following hour was painful and tedious. Ludwig’s temporary stone fix of his lost hand was gone and he was in rather considerable pain, rendering him useless to help anyone else. Gilbert and Matthew slowly tugged the constricting armor off Feliciano, his clothes fortunately still intact underneath. Lovino and Antonio had to be carried into the car, and were now clumsily draped over the back seats. It was almost comical. Ludwig sat in the passenger seat, what was left of his wrist closely clutched to his chest.  
“I’ll take them to the closest hospital. It’s all we can do.” He said with a shrug. So he had driven off in a plume of dust, leaving Matthew and Feliciano in the shade of the barn against the setting sun.  


“You were very brave.” Feliciano murmured with a slight smile. They sat with their backs against the barn. The sky above them was slowly turning yellow, making the dirt they were sitting on look orange. Matthew looked away, his eyes doleful.  
“Ludwig hand… I was not much help.” He stumbled over the words, trying to piece together sentences with his limited vocabulary. Feliciano’s smile disappeared.  
“You did everything you could.” He replied. A crystalline tear dropped from his eyelashes and dissolved into the dirt below. The pain, the fear, and the confusion of what had happened played on repeat in his mind. He still felt on edge, but was too exhausted to do anything more than sit and watch the sky change colour above them, a pastel painting. It reminded him of his cafe and the art that hung on its walls. How far away that seemed now.  


“Angel?” Feliciano called. He hadn’t seen the small creature since… Well, since Lovino’s… It didn’t matter. Where was she? There was no shimmer of the air, no appearance of the familiar angelic fairy.  
“Matthew, can you try making some snow?” Feliciano asked. Matthew nodded slightly. He frowned after a little while.  
“I can’t.” He said with a confused expression. Feliciano sighed. Would their powers come back, or was the destruction of the ethereal gems enough to banish them forever? He hoped so. They had already brought him and those he loved enough suffering. He closed his eyes and leant his head on the side of the barn. The world he knew was so far away. He would be glad to return, but a little part of him knew that it would never be the same.


	17. Chapter 17

“Anxiety.” Ludwig echoed. Feliciano bit his lip and nodded. He felt almost ashamed at the diagnosis he had been given. It made him feel weak and fragile. Of course, what could one expect? He’d been through living hell. He was surprised it wasn’t worse. Lovino was still in a coma at the hospital but the Doctors had quietly informed them that given the stress of the situation, which Ludwig had conveniently warped to sound much more plausible, it was likely that he would have PTSD. Feliciano had had to look it up. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the screen had announced in bright artificial light.  
“I’m fine.” He insisted. They sat in his little cafe, so warm and comforting. The store felt more like home than the above rooms did, so as the moon rose outside, they sat at a table close to the wall in the little shop front.

“I can run the cafe again, and Gilbert said he’d come in sometimes to help me, and-” Feliciano broke off into quiet sobs. Ludwig reached over the table and held his hand tightly.  
“Feliciano. It’s okay to need help.” He said soothingly. Feliciano sniffled but didn’t respond. Ludwig’s prosthetic hand lay on the table. It was grey and slightly shiny, the fingers slightly curled. Ludwig still wasn’t used to it and needed Feliciano’s help doing basic things, so now their positions were switched, Ludwig staying over at Feliciano’s until he got used to the prosthesis. Feliciano hoped that he would ask whether they could live together permanently. His thoughts were forced back to the conversation when Ludwig’s prosthetic hand moved to his other, still tightly holding Feliciano’s. It was cold where it touched his skin.

“I - I don’t need help. I have pills, they said that would make it better. You don’t have to waste time on me.” Feliciano murmured defensively. Ludwig’s blue eyes were clouded with compassion.  
“Listen to me.” He said quietly.  
“Any time I spend with you is never wasted. Every single moment, every second, I treasure.” He said. Feliciano looked down at the table.  
“Hey, look at me.” Ludwig said gently. Feliciano slowly looked up. Their eyes met. Ludwig’s were full of love. Feliciano smiled a little.  
“Thank you.” He replied. They sat there for a while. 

The cafe was silent but for their breath and beating hearts. The monet paintings were like sunsets all around them.


	18. Chapter 18

“That’s my email, my facebook, my skype, you’ll shoot me a message as soon as you can, right?” Gilbert fussed. Matthew nodded meekly, a happy smile on his face. All around them the airport bustled, white and silver plastic everywhere. Feliciano and Ludwig sat nearby, watching the two say goodbye. A somewhat distorted voice announced that Matthew’s plane was to be boarded in ten minutes.  
“Oh come here, you tall idiot.” Gilbert announced, crushing Matthew into a hug. Matthew’s eyes widened but he hugged back. His bags were weighed down by the massive amounts of gifts he had been given - mostly by Gilbert. A yellow plush bird poked out of his jacket pocket, which Gilbert had won for him from one of the airport’s claw machines.  
“I’ll miss you.” Matthew murmured. A single curl in his hair was astray and it hung limply at the side of his face. Gilbert made a show of a great heaving sniffle.  
“Don’t be an idiot. I’m gonna come over and visit you tons.” He replied with bright eyes and a broad smile. More heartfelt goodbyes were broken off by the distorted voice again.  
“I’m sorry, I have to go.” Matthew said, glancing towards the runway. Gilbert nodded.  
“I’m gonna miss you, Matt.” He mumbled and rubbed away the start of a tear with his sleeve. Matthew picked up his suitcase, smiled a little, and started to walk away. Soon he was lost in the crowd. 

“Fucking hell.” Gilbert muttered, slumping down in the seat next to Ludwig.  
“I miss him already.” He admitted. Feliciano smiled a little.  
“It’s alright, Gil. As long as he’s in your heart, he hasn’t left at all.” He replied. Gilbert snorted.  
“Like thinking that will help.” He said not unkindly. He stretched, smiled, and raised his eyebrows.  
“Let’s get some lunch. I’m goddamn starving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! Any comments are much appreciated!


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